CNN is being attacked online after former host Brian Stelter was rehired temporarily as "chief media analyst" and will deliver his "Reliable Sources" newsletter for the network despite previously sharing conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden having Parkinson's Disease.
While Stelter deleted the tweet, he posted the comment after Biden bombed in the first debate against Donald Trump. It echoed conspiracies spread by the right that suggested Biden had some form of cognitive disease, with many suggesting Parkinson's.
Biden signed the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act which was passed by Congress and signed into law by Biden on July 2. The law requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) carry out a project to address the disease and other brain disorders that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, explained the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
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Stelter reacted with, "Today of all days...." meaning that Biden's signing of the law came amid conservative questions about whether he had the disease.
Legal analyst and podcast network founder Allison Gill spent Wednesday morning aiming comment towards CNN commentator and GOP strategist Scott Jennings when she saw the news about Stelter.
"If your ratings are down and you don’t realize it’s because of Scott Jennings, the answer is not to bring back Brian Stelter," she wrote on X.
She later replied to a post criticizing Jennings from George Conway, adding that the strategist is "simply despicable."
"Well they should definitely bring Stetler back to smooth things over. You know, the guy who made fun of Biden and implied he had Parkinson’s?" she commented.
Neuroscience professor Sally Ann Cole, Ph.D. had expressed shock about Stelter's comments.
"Stelter is mocking the passage of a bill to put an end to Parkinson’s disease?" she asked on X.
"Real journalists deal in facts. Stelter’s idea of a fact is buying into a conspiracy theory about Biden having Parkinson’s and joking about it. That is cruel, and not even true. He is no real journalist. Shame!" commented journalist and podcast host Roma Torre.
Stelter was previously let go from the network amid a huge shakeup under then-CEO Chris Licht, who took over CNN after former Trump ally Jeff Zucker was ousted.
